Sarah Caplin

With an incarceration rate that has increased by 35 percent over the past 20 years, resulting in annual costs to taxpayers as high as $700 million Louisiana jails people at a rate nearly double the national average. This upcoming legislative session, Louisiana lawmakers have an opportunity to turn a corner and implement conservative, data-driven policies that will improve public safety while lowering the rate of incarceration.

After referencing the best research in the field and a year long period of extensive stakeholder discussion, The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task force developed 26 policy recommendations aimed at protecting citizens while getting a better return on public safety dollars. The goal of these smart data driven recommendations is to address the state drivers of high prison admissions and lengthy stays that have created a bloated system that is complicated, often inaccessible to victims, and creates barriers for both those convicted of crimes and those in administering the sentencing system.

Recidivism in Louisiana is extremely high where 1 in three people return to prison within just three years. The Task Force also found that Louisiana sends people to prison for nonviolent, drug and property crimes at twice the rate of neighboring South Carolina and three times the rate of Florida. These states notably have identical crime rates to Louisiana.

House Speaker Tyler Barras has said “A lot of our low-level drug and property crime is driven by addiction...We can save millions and also have less crime by focusing prison beds on those who pose a more serious public safety threat and making smart investments in probation and drug treatment for nonviolent crimes.”

Recommendations from the task force chart a data driven course for comprehensive reform and address high admissions for probation failures and nonviolent crimes and growth in those prisoners serving longest terms. They allow greater discretion for judges and parole boards and the reforms similar to the task force recommendations have reduced crime and imprisonment in other states. These reforms ensure clarity and consistency in sentencing, focus prison beds on those who pose a serious public safety threat and strengthen community supervision and paths to successful reentry.

States such as Texas, Georgia and Alabama have adopted similar practices to make their justice systems more effective and sustainable and Louisiana is in good company in following their lead.

"Our criminal justice system needs major reformation," said Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc, chairman of the blue ribbon panel. "It's costing taxpayers a ton of money and not getting outcomes. I've never seen such bipartisan support and call for reform”

There is no defense for maintaining the status quo with that same bipartisan, business, and public support for spending fewer taxpayer dollars on ineffective prisons and dedicating those funds to alternatives that have a proven track record of results. We are encouraged by this progress and hope to see Louisiana shed the dubious honor of the incarceration capital of the world.

Americans for Tax Reform sent a letter to Louisiana lawmakers urging them to support legislation containing policy recommendations from the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force.

For too long Louisiana has been the nation’s incarceration leader, locking up residents at a rate nearly twice the national average. Louisiana’s punitive sentences and parole policies are out of line with neighboring states – and they aren’t working.

Over the past 10 years, more than half the states have adopted bipartisan criminal justice reforms to control costs and provide taxpayers with a better return on their public safety dollar. Anchored in data and research about what works to change criminal behavior, these reforms are reducing incarceration and crime, allowing states to safely close prisons and invest the savings in victim services and other public needs.

If adopted, Louisiana’s reform package will safely reduce the prison population by 13% and save the state $305 million over the next decade.

We write you today in support of the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force’s policy recommendations reflected in a bill package including SB16, SB139, SB220, SB221, HB116, HB177, HB249, HB426, HB489, and HB519.

If adopted, Louisiana’s reform package will safely reduce the prison population by 13% and save the state $305 million over the next decade. Since Texas embraced reform in 2007, the imprisonment rate has dropped 16% and crime has fallen 30%. Along the way, Texas has saved more $2 billion and closed numerous prisons. South Carolina has a similar story. Since passing its reform package in 2010, the state has closed six prisons and saved half a billion dollars while experiencing a crime drop of 16% . These recommendations will focus prison beds on people who pose a serious public safety risk while strengthening community supervision and reducing barriers that prevent former offenders from finding work and housing upon release.

Now Louisiana is poised to join this group. For too long Louisiana has been the nation’s incarceration leader, locking up residents at a rate nearly twice the national average. Louisiana’s punitive sentences and parole policies are out of line with neighboring states – and they aren’t working. One in three people leaving a Louisiana prison returns within three years, despite a corrections budget that tops $600 million a year.

Reforms that lower excessive penalties for drug, property, and nonviolent crimes are especially necessary. Louisiana incarcerates such people at twice the rate of South Carolina and three times the rate of Florida, even though crime levels are nearly identical in these states. Louisiana also has made felonies out of behavior that other states treat as misdemeanors. Stealing an $800 bike in Louisiana is a felony, but in Texas theft is not a felony unless the property is worth $2,500. The bottom line? Louisiana locks up people for behaviors that would not lead to incarceration in other states, and it’s not making Louisiana any safer.

Over the past 10 years, more than half the states have adopted bipartisan criminal justice reforms to control costs and provide taxpayers with a better return on their public safety dollar. Anchored in data and research about what works to change criminal behavior, these reforms are reducing incarceration and crime, allowing states to safely close prisons and invest the savings in victim services and other public needs. The Justice Reinvestment Task Force has produced a strong package of recommendations that can produce the positive results similar to states such as Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and others.

These outcomes are not a fluke. They are the result of smart, evidence-based policies and practices adopted by legislators who grew weary of watching their correctional systems produce the same disappointing results year after year. This is why I encourage you to support this package of bills. Thank you for your leadership.

In a letter to Secretary Kelly, Americans for Tax Reform urged the reconsideration of an EB-5 regulation proposed by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on January 13.

The regulation aims to increase the financial burdens of obtaining the visas, putting the entire program at risk. Such a sudden change to the program would send the wrong message to companies and investors, possibly chilling investment in American jobs and the economy.

The EB-5 visa program has been an important source of investment for the American economy. Changes to the program should be handled in the legislative branch, where democratically elected representatives can best represent their constituent’s priorities. Congress and DHS should be looking at ways to safely expand the program, not shrink it.

I am writing to you today to ask for the reconsideration of Obama’s EB-5 “midnight rule” that would compromise the integrity of the program. The EB-5 visa program has been an important source of investment for the American economy. Changes to the program should be handled in the legislative branch, where democratically elected representatives can best represent their constituent’s priorities.

The EB-5 regulation proposed by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on January 13 (see 82 Federal Register 4738) should be pulled from consideration like the rest of the previous administration’s 11th hour rules.

The regulation aims to increase the financial burdens of obtaining the visas, putting the entire program at risk. The new rule would increase the lower visa cost from $500,000 to $1.35 million and the high end from $1 million to 1.8 million. Simply put, this will discourage investment in American job markets that need it most. Investors will have the option of going to Australia, or Canada—high income countries with lower visa monetary requirements.

The Commerce Department has recently conducted a study of the job-creating impact of the investor visa program. In just one year 11,000 immigrant investors provided $5.8 billion in capital for FY2012 and FY2013 to support an estimated 174,039 thousand jobs in the United States. Much of it in construction and infrastructure. USCIS has been unable to determine the possible impact of the new rules. DHS should not put 174,000 American jobs at risk for an Obama administration holdover.

Instead, DHS should wait for the legislative branch to act. Such a sudden change to the program would send the wrong message to companies and investors, possibly chilling investment in American jobs and the economy.

Congress should also work to reauthorize the EB-5 regional centers program before its expiration this month. Given the consistent backlog on visa requests, and the global demand from investors for these visas, Congress and DHS should be looking at ways to safely expand the program, not shrink it. The influx of capital could help spur the private market towards infrastructure investment.

I encourage you to take a close look at this program and its well-documented benefits for the economy and rescind this Obama regulation. To remain competitive, America needs to welcome investments that employ more workers and improve infrastructure.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) released a letter to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant today urging the signing of HB 1033, a criminal justice reform measure that will reduce the state’s overcrowded prisons and prioritizes taxpayer dollars.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 30 years ago that locking people up merely because they cannot afford to pay court fines is contrary to American values of fairness and equality embedded in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. With this action, Mississippi moves away from jailing traffic violators and ensures that sentences must not go beyond the maximum sentence set by the legislature for the given offense.

The State of Mississippi has already demonstrated a desire to improve public safety through smarter crime policies, and this bill represents another step in the right direction. We commend continued pursuit of achieving the best possible results through smart, fiscally responsible decisions that help break the cycle of recidivism and improve oversight and accountability.

Last week, nearly three years to the day they embarked on landmark criminal justice reform, Mississippi took a significant step in building on the foundations of their commitment to improving public safety by passing HB 1033. HB 1033 further builds on the foundation of the reforms contained in HB 585 and provides technical fixes that carry out the intent of the earlier legislation, garnering further taxpayer savings.

With this action, Mississippi moves away from jailing traffic violators and focuses the state’s overcrowded prisons on dangerous offenders and prioritizes taxpayer dollars simultaneously improving state public safety and fiscal health.

In 2014, the state faced spending $264 million on additional prison space to accommodate a growing prison population. Instead, leaders passed a package of policies in HB 585 designed to safely lower incarceration. These are evidence-based policies, backed by the best available research, proven to work in the areas of sentencing, parole, and reentry. Reform works and HB 1033 continues those successful lessons.

As we know, fines can often be incurred by small civil infractions. They include municipal violations like speeding and littering. Most Americans commit these infractions on a regular basis. Though some people find tickets annoying there are many who lack the money to pay their fines. Those individual’s lives can be seriously harmed by the state as they enter a cycle of incurring ever greater costs which in turn can lead to job loss, imprisonment, and further recidivism.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 30 years ago that locking people up merely because they cannot afford to pay court fines is contrary to American values of fairness and equality embedded in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This legislation would insure that people are not being locked up due to their inability to pay traffic fines and fees.

In addition, HB 1033 will make sure the state’s most expensive public safety resources, prison beds, are used on offenders that pose a public safety threat. Many of the new requirements, which are specifically designed to reduce recidivism, address planning for and implementation of evidence based practices in transitioning inmates from institutions back to the communities. Judges are given greater discretion to develop a payment plan or assign community service in lieu of payment.

The State of Mississippi has already demonstrated a desire to improve public safety through smarter crime policies, and this bill represents another step in the right direction. We commend continued pursuit of achieving the best possible results through smart, fiscally responsible decisions that help break the cycle of recidivism, improve oversight and accountability, and further carry the intent of HB 585.

Last week, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history by successfully relaunching one of their previously used Falcon 9 rockets back into space. The rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sent a communications satellite into orbit, and safely landed on one of SpaceX’s drone ships floating in the Atlantic Ocean. This mission was a significant milestone that could dramatically lower the cost of space technology.

Until now, rockets have almost all been single-use. Once the fuel is expended, a rocket will plummet back to Earth, resulting in the destruction of extremely expensive equipment that costs tens of millions of dollars to build. It has been likened to scrapping a 747 jet after one flight, which would make air travel impossibly expensive.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared on the company’s live stream shortly after the landing and spoke about the accomplishment. “It means you can fly and refly an orbital class booster, which is the most expensive part of the rocket. This is going to be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight,” he said.

The last major attempt at a reusable spacecraft was NASA’s Space Shuttle. However, the promised ultra-low cost of the space shuttle never materialized. With more private companies developing space technology, there is more competition for innovation, which in turn leads to faster growth within the field.

This success highlights the recent rapid technological development in the private sector.

The lower costs and developing technologies will lead to many opportunities, including the potential to vastly improve the global communications industry. A wide range of broadband and communications services could be provided for residential, commercial, institutional, government and professional users worldwide at a significantly lower rate and broader range.

SpaceX entered the aerospace market with a goal that is commonly shared between those in the private sector: lower the price to compete aggressively for market share. The successful relaunching of the Falcon 9 is a major step in progressing that goal and revitalizing the aerospace industry by completing the economic cycle of lower costs as a result of competition and innovation.

In a letter sent to the Arkansas Legislature, Americans for Tax Reform urged state lawmakers to oppose mandatory minimum sentencing in SB 177.

Increasing sentences arbitrarily and limiting parole options can result in severe sentencing outcomes that neither fit the crime nor the individual's unique circumstances. This is why over 30 states have reassessed prison sentences and corrections spending in the last 15 years.

If passed, SB 177 would undo Arkansas’ progress in establishing a more effective criminal justice system. More taxpayer dollars would be spent on low level offenders instead of serious violent criminals. After passage, the prison population would increase by 5,500 mostly non-violent people at a cost of $692 million over ten years.

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform and our supporters across Arkansas, I write today in strong opposition of SB 177. If passed, SB 177 would undo Arkansas’ progress in establishing a more effective criminal justice system. More taxpayer dollars would be spent on low level offenders instead of serious violent criminals.

Thanks to Act 423, enacted earlier this month, Arkansas took needed steps to stabilize its prison population and averted an increase in its prison population of 1,650 people by 2023. This will relieve pressure on the already at-capacity prisons from the added strain, and allow the state to avoid building more prisons. Act 423’s passage look to projected savings of over $288 million. Rolling back these reforms would be a mistake.

Increasing sentences arbitrarily and limiting parole options can result in severe sentencing outcomes that neither fit the crime nor the individual's unique circumstances. This is why over 30 states have reassessed prison sentences and corrections spending in the last 15 years.

An impact estimate done by Arkansas’ Sentencing commission found that enacting SB 177 would have costly consequences for the state’s budget. After passage, the prison population would increase by 5,500 mostly non-violent people at a cost of $692 million over ten years.

SB 177 would take sentencing discretion away from the judges who know the specifics of a case and can properly determine what an appropriate sentence is. This encourages excessive incarceration and risks breaking families apart unnecessarily. Children and spouses would be deprived of breadwinners, risking negative effects on their own lives.

Act 423 uses the money saved from reductions in prison spending on recidivism reduction initiatives such as mental health services and addiction treatment. Rather than warehousing low risk offenders, this approach can reduce crime rates at a faster rate without breaking the budget.

Given the undeniable costs and dubious benefits of mass, long-term incarceration of nonviolent offenders, the Arkansas Legislature should turn away from sentencing practices that have been shown not to work. The Natural State has already passed legislation to improve public safety through smarter crime policies, this bill represents a significant step in the wrong direction.

I encourage you to extend your opposition for this important legislation. For more information, please contact Jorge Marin in my office at jmarin@atr.org

Americans for Tax Reform this week released a letter to Nebraska lawmakers urging support for State Senator Ernie Chamber’s LB 447.

Nonviolent drug offenses make up a significant proportion of mandatory minimums and result in arbitrary and severe sentencing outcomes that neither fit the crime nor the individual's unique circumstances. Nebraska prisons are now filled with low-level offenders, resulting in overcapacity prison populations and higher costs for taxpayers.

LB 447 is an important step toward comprehensive sentencing reform. This legislation would turn sentencing over to the judges who know the specifics of a crime and can properly determine what an appropriate sentence is. This avoids excessive incarceration and maintains families intact for longer. Children and spouses will not have to be deprived of breadwinners, reducing the negative effects on their own lives.

On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform and our supporters across Nebraska, I write today in strong support of LB 447. If passed, LB 447 would focus Nebraska’s overcrowded prisons on dangerous offenders and save the state several millions of dollars.

Nonviolent drug offenses, which make up a significant proportion of mandatory minimums, result in arbitrary and severe sentencing outcomes that neither fit the crime nor the individual's unique circumstances. Nebraska prisons are now filled with low-level offenders, resulting in overcapacity prison populations and higher costs for taxpayers. This is why over 30 states have reassessed mandatory minimum sentences in the last 15 years.

LB 447 is an important step toward comprehensive sentencing reform. Judges are denied the right to bring their experience, discretion, and sense of what is just into the sentencing procedure. This approach fills prisons with people who pose little risk to society, straining public resources without any gains in safety.

This legislation would turn sentencing over to the judges who know the specifics of a crime and can properly determine what an appropriate sentence is. This avoids excessive incarceration and maintains families intact for longer. Children and spouses will not have to be deprived of breadwinners, reducing the negative effects on their own lives.

In addition, LB 447 has the potential to save the state of Nebraska $3.5 million annually. The current results of a high rate of mandatory minimum offenders in prison are not cost-effective. As of 2013, Nebraska's correctional expenditures were nearly 193 million. Unless state policymakers act, they will likely need to spend another $100 million to build yet another prison.

Given the undeniable costs and dubious benefits of mass, long-term incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders, the Nebraska Legislature should take steps to give judges more flexibility in sentencing those offenders. The Cornhusker State has already passed legislation to improve public safety through smarter crime policies, this bill represents another step in the right direction.

I encourage you to extend your support for this important legislation. For more information, please contact Jorge Marin in my office at jmarin@atr.org

This week, a number of criminal justice reform bills are moving through the Oklahoma legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. These historic votes are a huge step towards a better criminal justice system that will improve public safety, reduce the prison population, and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Eight bills have passed through the Senate, and three other pieces of legislation have passed through the House. These measures, based on recommendations from Gov. Mary Fallin’s Justice Reform Task Force, will continue Oklahoma’s effort to modify the state's criminal justice system.

“Making smart, data-driven decisions on how to increase safety while decreasing our overcapacity prisons is key to pursuing smaller, more efficient, and more moral government.” said Gov. Fallin.

According to the Oklahoma Justice Reform Task Force, these vital changes will save the state $1.9 billion in the coming years. Oklahoma currently holds the second-highest imprisonment rate in the United States. These bills address the state’s prison population by providing individualized treatment for those in the justice system who need mental health or substance abuse services, reforming sentencing practices, and modifying penalties for non-violent crimes.

Americans for Tax reform applauds these positive steps and hopefully this is a prologue to more legislation to come.

The newly signed legislation will require the Office of Public Defender to put clients in touch with social workers, allow jail inmates free phone calls to their attorneys, eliminate the requirement to appoint a public defender for an unknown parent in child abuse cases, and allow criminal records for juvenile offenders to be shared electronically.

Prisons in Montana are significantly overcrowded due to high recidivism rates and the growing impact of substance abuse. Without new legislation, the prison population is projected to increase 13 percent by FY2023, requiring at least $51 million in new spending.

To address these concerns, the state Legislature created the Commission on Sentencing. After nearly two years of study, The Council of State Governments Justice Center announced their findings and brought 12 proposed bills to this legislative session.

“We want to think about how we can spend taxpayer money wisely to address these issues and have better outcomes for everybody,” State Sen. Cynthia Wolken said. “Not do what we’re doing now, which is address them in prison, where it’s the most expensive way to treat them.”

The commission’s proposals also include Senate Bills 63, and 64, which aim to change the rules of probation and parole in an effort to keep fewer people from being sent back to prison for minor infractions. According to the Justice Center report, key findings show that revocations account for a majority of prison admissions in Montana and that people are on probation for unusually lengthy periods of time. Reducing revocations for mere technical violations of probation and parole can help reduce the 74% of people in Montana’s correctional system due to revocation of their probation or parole.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to change our thought process,” said state Rep. Jimmy Patelis, a Republican from Billings who previously worked as Montana’s chief U.S. probation officer. “We cannot think that way anymore. We don’t have room, we don’t have the money, and really we need to become updated and innovative.”

There are additional bills designed to further increase public safety through more effective supervised parole and reentry. The additional bills focus on creating a professional, rather than volunteer, state Parole Board, and expanding the reach and improving the efficacy of programs focused on reducing recidivism.

The effective implementation of these reforms will avert nearly $70 million in costs by 2023.

Despite previous warning, the IRS failed to update computer program changes that were brought to their attention. After an extensive evaluation, TIGTA discovered multiple employee and processing errors within the IRS.

As a result of these errors, The IRS doled out $1.2 million less in a property tax credit than taxpayers were owed. As the report notes:

“The IRS incorrectly limited the Property Credit on 731 tax returns processed as of April 28, 2016, which caused these taxpayers to receive approximately $1.2 million less in credits than they were entitled to receive.”

Despite previous warning, TIGTA also found that computer programming errors are still causing some direct deposits to not convert to a paper check as required. As TIGTA noted:

“Our analysis of the 86 million deposit requests identified 5,605 deposit attempts totaling approximately $9.2 million that did not convert to a paper check as required.”

This is not an isolated incident. As the report notes, The IRS did not establish adequate processes to ensure that required documentation was associated and reviewed before processing claims and allowing credits:

“Our review also identified that employee errors resulting from the manual processing of these claims further delayed some taxpayer refunds. For example, TIGTA’s review of 6,300 electronically filed tax returns and 356 paper tax returns with Health Coverage Tax Credit claims totaling more than $20.8 million that were processed as of April 28, 2016, identified 450 (6.8 percent) returns that had a processing error.”

The IRS has proven itself to be inept with technology. A 2015 report found that the agency was unable to upgrade all of its Windows workstations by the proper deadlines. In addition to this critical error, the IRS had not accounted for the location or migration status of approximately 1,300 workstations and upgraded only about one-half of its Windows servers in a five year time span. A separate report from 2016 found that the IRS wasted $12 million on an unusable email system because they purchased it without completing the required and necessary cost analysis.